With these quantities, you’ll get a thick royal icing, perfect for outlining cookies and making shapes that need to hold their form.
Making the icing
Place all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat until smooth.
Adjusting consistency
For a thinner icing to flood (fill) inside outlines, add a little extra water. To check: scoop up a spoonful of icing and let it fall back into the bowl. If the surface smooths out in about 10 seconds, you have “10-second icing.” If it smooths out in 20 seconds, you have “20-second icing.”
I prefer the 20-second version because it works for both outlining and flooding. Since the edges aren’t fully set yet, the outlines blend seamlessly with the filling, leaving no visible borders.
In the photo of the cookies, you can see what I mean by the piped outlines - those were done with Wilton tip #2.
Tips
Avoid raw egg whites because of salmonella risk.
If you’re using two different consistencies of icing: pipe the outlines first, let them dry for a few minutes, then fill in with the thinner icing. I like to put the thinner icing in a small squeeze bottle (like one for salad dressings). Snip the tip a little wider and the icing will flow out easily. You can also spoon icing directly into the outlined areas, but that tends to get messy more quickly.
Now your sugar cookies are ready to turn into little works of art!
How to store
You can store the icing outside of the fridge in a piping bag or in an airtight container for about a week. Stir before using again as it might split a little.